This invention relates to a continuous automatic lint filtration system for garment finishing machines, such as conventional straight-through and U-turn tunnel finishers designed for commercial and industrial garment laundering plants. Tunnel finishers are used to remove wrinkles which are set into the garments during the laundry process. In many cases these finishers are also used to dry the garments after laundering.
Lint is generated as a by-product of garment processing in tunnel finishers, and must be captured and removed from the processing chamber in order to keep interior heating surfaces, circulation blowers, and other surfaces and components of the tunnel finisher and the plant environment clean. Present tunnel finishers typically use a removable, stationary lint filter which is held in place at an intake between the interior processing chamber and a circulation and exhaust blower. An accumulation of lint on the filter causes uneven and inconsistent heating, and reduced airflow through the processing chamber. The end result is a poorly finished garment. In order to maintain safe and efficient operation of the tunnel finisher, the entire machine must be periodically shut down and the filter removed, cleaned, and replaced. In many plants, the lint filters must be cleaned 3-4 times per shift. This cleaning process is costly and labor intensive, and substantially decreases the overall production of the machine.
The present invention addresses this and other problems of prior art tunnel finishers by providing a continuous automatic lint filtration system designed to clean the filter while the machine is in operation. The invention reduces labor and operation costs, while increasing the efficiency and production of the machine.